Ch.256Kidney Equipment (4)

After the proposal for a mock battle to test the operation of the aircraft—or more precisely, the powered suit—and after both the pilot and developer expressed their agreement, the situation progressed rapidly.

Since a considerable number would be involved, the battlefield naturally became the empty land near the unexplored territory. During the journey there, functional tests of the powered suit equipped with fire support modules were also conducted.

After completing the movement to the battlefield, several measures were taken to prevent injuries between the two sides in the full-scale mock battle that was about to begin.

For instance, my Unicorn Longsword was replaced with an ordinary spare longsword because its lethality was too high, and similarly, most equipment that could cause death if hit incorrectly was either deactivated or had its output adjusted.

And so, the situation has come to this.

I face off against a powered suit that has gained flight capability by merging with drone-type auxiliary parts equipped with various weapon supply functions and flight assistance features, while I myself am loaded with a wide array of weapons.

We stare at each other’s helmets, waiting for our allies to retreat to a safe distance with their equipment to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

Looking at that helmet covered with lens-like sensors and optical equipment, complete with horns, I feel an oddly strong sense of déjà vu as I draw the longsword from the scabbard at my waist.

Seeing this, he takes out a familiar axe and a rectangular folding shield handed to him by the auxiliary arm of his weapon supply equipment. As I gradually channel strength into my body, I activate the floating function of my cape at just the right moment…

—KWANG!!!

I kick off the ground and leap into the air, marking the beginning of this mock battle.

Almost simultaneously as I soar upward and launch blade shields in all directions, the opponent activates the thrusters on his back and legs to fly into the sky while drawing weapons from behind his back to take aim.

His auxiliary firing weapons—miniaturized auxiliary laser-type rapid-fire magic cannons—total two units.

Considering that normal secondary weapons typically come bundled with four units each, the firepower is certainly lower, but if I were to take a direct hit, I’d likely be ruled as shot down.

Therefore, my choice is to use the blade shields I’ve drawn for their original purpose.

—TIDIDIDIDIDI!!!

In a real battle, I could just take the hits and advance since their power is ambiguous anyway, but that’s a choice I can only make when fighting with my full strength.

Since this mock battle was started as a demonstration test run, I deliberately calm my rising competitive spirit while advancing forward with my shield raised.

Blocking attacks with my deployed shield and using some shield pieces as footholds to advance, this combination allowed me to approach right in front of his head at some point—

—CHAENG!! CHENG! CHAENG!!

Immediately after, Droop and I fiercely exchanged blows in midair, swinging sword and axe.

I deflect an axe swing coming at abnormal speed from the side and counter by swinging a blade shield attached to my empty hand in an extending fashion.

This weapon, formed by combining eight blade shields, cuts the folding shield that Droop thrust forward for defense in half, but in the meantime, he has somehow discarded his shield and receives a massive hammer befitting his size as he creates a slight distance.

And then, we clash again.

—CHAEAENG!!!

Amidst the collision of heavy metals, I discard the blade shield and pick up a blunt weapon capable of weight augmentation, continuing the engagement with dual-wielded weapons.

Unfortunately, due to lethality restrictions, crushing the opponent with sheer weight might be impossible, but the weapon’s performance is so good that this small blunt weapon is fully capable of parrying that giant hammer.

In this atmosphere, as I skillfully deflect the axe and hammer coming at me in syncopated rhythm, I inwardly marvel at the physical enhancement capabilities installed in that powered suit.

‘…It can go this far?’

The strength, which has reached a level comparable to high-tier thanks to accumulated factor and residue corrections, meets me head-on, and while it lacks flexibility, the sheer power of attacks along linear trajectories is so immense that they’re generally impossible to parry.

To be blunt, at 2.5 times the average mid-tier, it can easily keep up with my speed, and above all, those thrusters attached to each joint are remarkable.

Despite being an extremely simple action of just firing at the right timing, when conditions are met, its power rises to the extreme, and simultaneously, the threefold reaction speed provides a tremendous advantage in close combat.

Thanks to this, facing a mid-tier equal to me in specs for the first time in several years, I struggle to suppress the urge to unleash my full skills as I execute my next move.

“—Hup!”

I throw the mace to the ground as if discarding it, and with my empty hand, I skillfully raise a short spear—something I’ve mastered thanks to the factor—and thrust it toward an opening.

A momentary point attack different from the linear attacks that had been flying until now. It’s typically difficult to deal with because it’s narrow and fast, rather than creating a wind hole in the enemy’s body.

But… the powered suit is clearly different in some way.

—KWAGGANG!!!

Just before impact, he discards his hammer and smashes down my spear thrust, and in that moment when my center of gravity is disrupted, his axe flies toward me.

This situation would never have occurred if I had solid footing on the ground, but it happened precisely because we were fighting in midair.

And in this situation, my decision was simple: calmly receive the attack and counter-attack.

—CHAEAENG!!

I intercept the axe blade to slightly alter its trajectory, and instead of diving into his embrace to strike at the weakness of his large frame, I quickly create distance and draw a weapon.

What I hold is a parrying dagger, designed to deflect swords in emergencies, while on his side, he takes out another weapon and mounts it on his shoulder.

‘…What is that?’

The egg-shaped equipment made of silver-like metal is something whose identity is difficult to guess, and as I draw my weapon, it reveals its true nature.

‘This is…?!’

A field generator. It forms a space that imposes specific rules—in this case, one that suppresses the emission of aura.

The intensity of the aura naturally wrapped around my sword diminishes significantly, and undoubtedly the strength of aura emission from the thrusters would weaken as well.

On the other hand, apart from suppressing the aura wrapped around weapons, his side has little actual aura emission, and the thrusters that form the basis of his flight ability emit pure magical power directly.

In short, it forces a situation favorable to him and unfavorable to me, so I naturally began to consider ways to break through this situation…

‘…Ah. Why did I even worry about this?’

With a sudden realization, I lamented my foolish thinking and quickly advanced forward while emitting almost twice the usual amount of aura.

Yes, if it’s a space that halves output, I just need to double my consumption.

The overwhelming total aura amount completed by absorbing residue and the ability to handle consumption established by magic regeneration were apparently perceived as a significant threat to him…

Immediately after the field generator was retrieved, new weapons appeared on his shoulders—two large magic cannons resting on each shoulder.

Although the output would have been reduced to a non-lethal setting, it’s still firepower that can’t be considered significantly low if hit.

More precisely, it’s enough firepower to potentially result in a shot-down ruling upon impact, so I have no choice but to be wary of it.

Of course, the chronic disadvantage of magic cannons—slow projectile speed—is unavoidable, but at the very least, the appearance of such a threatening weapon cannot be ignored.

Therefore—I quickly came to a conclusion.

Only one chance remains. If I miss, there’s a high probability of a death ruling. Since magic cannons are easy to dodge but result in 100% shot-down rulings if hit, it’s difficult to move forward boldly, so I must close the distance here and end this decisively.

Magic cannons firing at triple speed while moving at triple speed are very tricky variables to deal with under non-lethal settings.

—KWAANG!!

I elegantly avoid the magic masses flying at triple speed while maneuvering my body in various directions, simultaneously using footholds (blade shields) to rapidly advance forward.

And this was my true strategy all along.

“It’s over.”

“…Indeed.”

After making him focus all his attention on me, I stealthily approached from the side with two blade shields and placed them at his neck.

“Next time, I should pay attention to detection equipment outside my field of vision, right?”

“…That’s correct.”

A perfect ambush exploiting a gap in awareness. While it might seem a bit forced as a variable in potential combat scenarios, isn’t the ability to deal with such unexpected situations what increases a warrior’s survival rate?

Well, from his perspective, he seems disappointed that the head-on battle ended somewhat anticlimactically, but in truth, there’s no need for such disappointment.

From now on—even such disappointment will seem like a luxury as these situations repeat themselves.